It's-a-me, Mario? Mario time? We finally meet the Bear summoner?
"Greetings, Dog Summoner."
Kumafuwafuwa, Leader of the Bear Clan, was a monster from legend. Ten feet tall while standing on all fours. Legs thicker than some trees. Claws half the length of Hazō's forearms. When he walked, he left pawprints deep enough to trip on, which smoothed themselves away within seconds so that he left no trace. More importantly, he somehow moved through thick underbrush without disturbing a leaf or making a sound. If you were in his forest and he wanted you dead, you would never hear him coming.
I wonder how much of this is Clan Boss-in-territory magic and how much is normal, generally applicable magic, now that we know about the weird Dragons. We're going to need their best esoteric bullshit for some of those fuckers.
Hazō bowed deeply. "Greetings, Lord Kumafuwafuwa. Thank you for honoring me with your presence."
Kumafuwafuwa rumbled, the sound so deep Hazō could feel it in his chest. He wasn't sure if it was thoughtful, or threatening, or what. Tiny sparkles of fear danced across Hazō's nape at the uncertainty.
Well, if it made you scared, I think it counts as some kind of threatening.
"Mareo has agreed to see you."
Excitement surged in Hazō's heart. He hadn't been sure. Cannai had told him that Hagino Mareo, the Bear Summoner, was tentatively interested in a meeting and that Kumafuwafuwa had agreed to allow it provided he had the chance to vet Hazō first. Cannai had also told him something else that made Hazō seriously consider not taking the meeting.
"Cannai told you that your travel between Paths has been blocked?" The words could have been curious, or verifying, or many other things that lacked any trace of threat. They were none of those things.
Well, that's not good. We really shouldn't make a habit of letting go of that ability for risk of assassination, but I suppose it makes a good show of how serious Hazou is.
"Yes, My Lord. Until I see him again or until sunrise tomorrow." Given that it was still a bit shy of noon, that would be a long time to be on the run if the Bear Lord took objection to Hazō's continued existence.
In Bear Territory? Unclear how much the time would matter... Though it took a while for the Cat Boss to find them?
Aside: what makes an area the territory of a given Clan? Can we ask Kumokogo to surrender a tiny circle of land to the Dogs so Cannai can fast-travel to Arachnid? Can she surrender tiny circles of land to the Toads without one there?
Can we use something like this to sway the Conclave and get the Bosses to act? There is a lamer option: Walk over to the Conclave, announce the trade network is shutting down unless everyone sends a rep with Hazou to Arachnid, then just walk everyone over, announcing to territories in the middle that attacking the diplomatic delegation will earn the ire of a dozen clans.
"Mareo has been my friend for decades. I wish to be very clear about this: if you so much as raise a hand to him, I will kill you before you can blink. Asking Cannai to block your travel wasn't necessary, it was merely to impress upon you the seriousness of this situation."
I really wonder what the speed and strength feats of the bosses are, and how they stack up to S-rankers. Could Kumafuwafuwafuwa kill Jiraiya before he blinked?
"I understand, My Lord."
"That includes in self defense. If things come to blows, I expect you to flee without striking back. Dodge him and run. Do not touch him or raise weapon or chakra against him."
Which is made a little harder by the lack of dimensional travel (if it was really unnecessary to block it, why? Let Hazou flee magically at no harm to anyone rather than a risky flight on foot). At least Hazou has a good escape jutsu. Hopefully Kumafuwafuwafuwa won't kill him as soon as he uses handseals.
Hazō swallowed nervously. "Understood, My Lord. May I ask...are things likely to come to blows?"
The massive bear hesitated and looked away. It was hard to read emotion on a non-human face, but the way his head had lowered and his ears drooped seemed almost...sad? Embarrassed?
I wonder how much bear and dog body language have in common? I imagine there are some mammalian constants that Hazou could learn.
"Time is a thief for humans," Kumafuwafuwa said. "It steals your strength, steals your memories. Mareo is old, and time has stolen much from him. There are days where he is the brilliant and funny friend that I met over sixty years ago. There are days when he is...not. When he doesn't know me, and seeks to make contract once again. This morning was a good day, but it can turn without warning. When it does, he will be confused and afraid."
Ah, going senile. Poor guy. Also, for humans? I suppose it was a given that the Summon creatures aren't the same as we are, but this seems like a clear sign that while the humans think with their physical, meat brains, the Summons are doing something different than that, given that they have basically human minds...
One thing to check: Can summons get brain damage?
Revulsion flushed through Hazō's body, followed instantly by shame and guilt. It was instinctive, an animal's desire to back away from a sick fellow lest the problem be catching, lest Hagino's incapacity infect Hazō himself. Rationally, he knew that wasn't how it worked. 'Wandering wits' they called it, and it happened to many people. It was a natural part of aging, much like the loss of weight, loss of strength, the sagging of skin and the spreading of liver spots. That made it no less disturbing.
I have to assume Kumafuwafuwafuwa saw all these reactions.
If the people we pull out of Naraka have the same age bodies they went in with, we'll need to do something else to cure aging. Maybe check out what Oro's got once we kill him off.
"I will be careful," was all he said.
Kumafuwafuwa studied him for a moment, his tiny, deepset eyes showing nothing that Hazō could read. Finally he grunted and turned, leading Hazō deeper into the forest.
They emerged into a small clearing, a meadow atop a low hill that gave a view out over the trees. The grasses were knee high, their heads a switch of bright golden fuzz and their stalks a green so pale it was almost yellow. The scent of pollen and grass and sunlight washed the area, but Hazō had eyes only for the man who gamboled at the crest of the hill.
What was the color of the sky in Bear? Yellow? I want to say brown, but that's Pangolin.
He was the oldest person Hazō had ever seen. He was bald as a newborn and had skin the brown of wet clay. His hands were gnarled roots, joints swollen with the years. His movements were stiff but he still galloped and flapped his arms like a child. After twenty steps he spun around, head tilted to the sky, arms still flapping as he crowed like a rooster. He lurched but caught himself with the cane that had been looped over his shoulder.
That sounds very old. 80s?
"You're sure this is a good day?" Hazō asked out of the corner of his mouth.
"I am."
Just... very enthusiastic about playing on his own. I would be less surprised if there were a bear around. I wonder if he's a danger to the other bears when he's not remembering.
"Ohhhkay then." He cleared his throat and raised his voice. "Hello? Summoner Hagino?"
Hagino stopped and spun around, one arm lashing out with pointing finger. "Aha! Trying to sneak up on me, eh?!"
Hazō had tensed up at the pointing finger, ready to Substitute away, but he relaxed at the words. They were...playful?
"No, sir. We had an appointment."
"We did?" He frowned a magnificent frown, a frown that would have played well to the back row of any theater in the Elemental Nations, and then he strode down the hill, his cane a third leg no less stiff than the other two. "Why so we did! You're that Gookettle brat! You work with the Kitties, right?"
Terrible memory, or just doesn't give a fuck? He seems to be playing it up for the crowd (Kumafuwafuwafuwa?) at least.
"The Dogs, sir. And it's Gōketsu." Hazō advanced cautiously up the hill to meet the older man.
"That's what I said." He reached Hazō and clapped him on the shoulder; Hazō barely caught himself before leaping back. "Hah! Made ya flinch!"
Right, definitely just messing with him.
Hazō took a breath and tried to calm his racing heart. "Yes sir. It's an honor to meet you."
"It sure is, boy. It sure is. Come on, come on. Join me up here where it's warm." He took Hazō by the arm and tugged him up the hill. "Come, come. It's lovely up there."
The crest of the hill was only fifty feet away, so Hazō had trouble seeing how it could be substantially warmer than where they stood. Still. He followed the older man, struggling with every step to conceal how much his skin was crawling at being touched by an unknown ninja.
I wonder how much of this is a power dynamic thing. If it was Hazou leading around the estate genin or something, that seems less uncomfortable for him.
"Not you," Hagino said, raising a hand to Kumafuwafuwa. "I want to talk to the boy alone. Shoo. Shoo!"
The Bear Lord cocked his head, amusement and a slight hint of annoyance radiating off of him. "You are banishing me in my own lands, Mareo? I think perhaps you misunderstand our relationship."
Not like he couldn't hear and intervene just as easily from a half-mile out as from here.
"Bah! You think I don't know that you're only here to babysit me? You're afraid that this one here"—he pointed dramatically at Hazō—"is going to try to kill me! Hah! Whippersnapper like him, you think he could take the great and mighty Mareo, Summoner of Bears, Slaughterer of Sky, Looter of Legends? The man who defeated twenty Demon ninja in twenty minutes? The man who—"
Slaughterer of Sky! That's something we could try to look up, though it would probably take going to Sky to look up the local legends.
"—likes to bloviate and brag?" Kumafuwafuwa said tartly.
"Bah! Look at this!" His tree-root fingers twined and twirled through a half dozen seals in the blink of an eye and he punched the sky with one fist even as he shouted, "Flames of the Devouring Hells!"
His fingers are still plenty agile! I guess it's like riding a bicycle. Nice of him to burn through his reserves ahead of Hazou's betrayal though.
An inverted, truncated cone of flame ravaged out from Hagino's fist. The tip of the cone was a yard wide and hovered a foot from his knuckles. It spread quickly from there, the top of it being at least thirty yards across. The heat was so intense that Hazō could smell a few of his hairs crisping and had to blink away the pain of flash-dried eyes.
Does Hazou think he could dodge that, if it was pointing at him?
"See?" Hagino demanded of the Bear Lord, standing akimbo and smug. "See that? I've still got it and this little pipsqueak isn't going to be able to lay a finger on me if I don't want him to. I don't need you mother-henning me. That's for the Chicken Clan."
Kumafuwafuwa snorted. "There is no Chicken Clan, Mareo. I've been telling you that for forty years."
They also said there was no Dragon clan, and look where we ended up. These clan bosses could learn a thing or two about memory from the Elephant clan.
"Bah!" Hagino waved one hand dismissively. "Lies! Lies and calumny! I know what I saw! He was riding a giant chicken and I'm sure it was a summon! Now go on—shoo, and let me talk to the boy."
Did he see Zuko?
Kumafuwafuwa considered that for a moment, his jaw working as though tasting something sour, and then he nodded reluctantly. "Very well, old man. I'll see you later." His massive head swung towards Hazō and his voice became serious. "Remember what I said, boy. You will not escape me."
"I understand, sir."
"Hmph." The massive Bear glared at him for another moment, then turned and trundled back down the hill, fading away in that disconcerting way that Clan Bosses of the Seventh Path seemed to love.
What does this look like, by the way? Star wipe? Slowly setting opacity to zero?
"How'd you find me, boy? Sit, sit." Hagino planted his cane in the ground and slid down it slowly, his legs spraddling out in front of him until he was seated in the grass. Hazō couldn't help but notice that the cane was a single tree branch, two thumbs thick, with the end curled into a semi-circle that then doubled back on itself. It was the sort of thing that a bonsai expert might have created except it was big enough and solid enough to beat someone to death.
Did he grow his own cane? Power move. We should ask about it.
Hazō stood for a moment, utterly baffled. This was not how meeting a ninja elder was supposed to go. Such people were dignified, usually a bit threatening. Quirky, yes. Impatient, since they were too powerful to need social graces if they didn't want them. Most importantly: they did not put themselves in positions of vulnerability. They sat in chairs, not seiza, because it was easier to get out of a chair quickly than to get up from the floor, and fighting from shikko was disadvantageous no matter how good you were at it. They kept their backs to a wall unless that was impossible, and when it wasn't they usually kept their head slightly turned so they could monitor the open side from their peripheral vision.
Clearly he's lost a lot of survival instincts from Kumafuwafuwafuwa mothering him. We should help him revitalize those instincts.
Granted, that paranoia was partially for the benefit of those around them. Startling any ninja was a bad plan, but when it was someone who could demolish a building with a wave of their hand, a bit of extra caution was good. It behooved those with such destructive powers to take that caution.
So why in the world was this man sitting on his bum, leaning back on his hands with his legs stretched out in front of him like a child without a care in the world?
Poor Hazou. Learned so much decorum as a young Clan Head only for it all to come to naught here.
Hazō took a step back and lowered himself to the ground.
"What's your name, boy?" While he was asking, Hagino toed off his sandals and plucked a blade of grass between his toes, waving it back and forth like a festival flag. His feet were filthy and he hadn't cut his toenails in...apparently ever. Hazō did his best to ignore it.
When in Rome, do as the Romans, Hazou. Take your sandals off and toe-grab that grass.
"Gōketsu, sir. Gōketsu Hazō."
"Good, good. Good to meet you, Huzu."
"Hazō, sir."
"That's what I said. I'm Hagino Mareo, but you can call me Mareo and I'll call you Huzu. At my age the formalities get boring. So, what are you doing here, Huzu?"
[X] Change Hazou's legal name to Huzu.
As best as I can tell, 'Hu' is not even a valid phoneme.
Hazō wants to try to divine a bit about his interlocutor to know what approach to take.
Hazō, Empathy: 10 (skill) + 11 (Thousand Yard Stare points as per the Forged in Fire stunt) + 3 (dice) = 24
Mareo, Rapport: ? + 0 (dice): ?
Hazō has noticed Mareo's "Puckish Jokester" Aspect and gets a tag.
What the hell, this guy doesn't have Rapport? He's so friently!
Hazō wants to make a good impression, maybe even make friends. Mareo is neutral on this; he's somewhat curious about Hazō and enjoying having another human to brag talk to, as well as amused by this young whippersnapper in front of him claiming to be a ninja and a Summoner. Neither side gets bonus or malus on their dice.
Hazō, Rapport: 10 (skill) + 11 (Thousand Yard Stare points as per the Forged in Fire stunt) + 3 (tag "Puckish Jokester") + 3 (invoke "Creative Idealist") + 12 (!!dice!!) = 39
Mareo, Empathy: ? + 0 (dice): ?
Mareo started with a neutral attitude, so he is not willing to take Consequences in order to prolong the struggle. Hazō wins handily.
Wow, what a lucky roll, Hazou. Poor guy is getting whooped by us in socials. Level them a bit more and we can go full Mari on his ass.
Hazō considered making a thing of it, then decided to let it go. The old man was clearly messing with him. "I wanted to meet you, sir. I'm the Dog Summoner but I've only had the contract a short time. I wanted to meet the other Summoners, make friends where I could, listen to whatever advice they're willing to offer."
"Advice? Hah! I've got oodles of advice! I've got advice coming out of my ears! You want advice, I'm your man. But that's not really why you're here, is it?"
Surprisingly, if he did all those things for Hazou in a remotely sane way, that would probably be incredibly valuable.
"Um...yes? It is?"
"Naaaaahhhhh." The old man leaned forward and stretched his arm way out so he could slap Hazō on the knee. The movement was slow and creaky; Hazō could have dodged it easily, but he made himself stay still.
"You're here for my Scroll, aintcha boy?" Mareo was still leaning forward, eyeing Hazō significantly, but there was a hint of a smile that made Hazō decide to lean into the joke.
How did he know!? Though I assume the current plan is to have it willed to us, rather than actually kill him. Maybe Honoka can have it.
He nodded soberly. "You have caught me. I am from the Watcher's Council. I, having been awarded my chūnin rank a few months ago, was selected to be the first to track you down and retrieve this mighty artifact."
"Oh? And how you planning on doing that, eh?"
Glad that Mareo, in his paranoid caution, doesn't even attempt to deny the existence of the Watcher's Council. He knows.
"Orgy-induced heart attack," Hazō said, straight-faced. "I've arranged to have several attractive twenty-something female Summoners come by and pleasure you until your heart explodes."
Ruri and who else? Former Condor Summoner is dead, Tsunade ain't twenty something, Kei ain't attractive.
"Hah!" This time Mareo bopped him on the thigh with the handle of his cane. "An excellent plan! I approve of this plan wholeheartedly! Tell 'em to bring some decent brandy with 'em, too. If my heart doesn't go, maybe they can get my liver."
Note to self: figure out how much brandy we can bring this guy without Kumafuwafuwafuwa trying to kill us.
"I shall make a note, sir."
"Good, good. Apple brandy, mind you. Or maybe some kind of berry. None of that carrot shit. Stuff was awful."
Hazō frowned. "Carrot brandy, sir?" Was that even possible? Did carrots have enough juice in them to ferment?
Everything can be fermented, and carrots are quite sweet. Honestly, we should ask someone at AMITY to buy us some liquors from all corners of the EN to share with Mareo.
"I know, right? Stuff tasted like a dead skunk smells." He flung his arms wide, nearly losing control of his cane in the process. "But enough of that! Tell me about the Human Path, boy. I haven't been back there in ages. Is Ioannis still trying to swing west?"
Is that a name that can be constructed with Japanese phonemes??
"Ioannis, sir?"
"You know—ruler of those stabby people with the spears." He shook his head at the memory. "Swear by the fish, those guys could control the damn weather. Every time they came to scout us there was thick fog across half the country. Every time we went to scout them it would pour down rain, but only where we were. Might as well have been carrying a beacon on our heads."
Well that seems like a good jutsu to have for Uplift reasons. Imagine what we could sell a rain-causing jutsu to Sand for...
"I don't know anything about that, sir."
"Good, good. Those crazy bastards over in Key must have fended him off."
"Were you from Key, sir?"
"And why would you want to know that, eh? Trying to find my return point, camp on it until I reappear so you can kill me and take my Scroll?"
Well, he just said he hadn't been back there in ages, so probably no point.
"No, sir. I already said that I'm planning to have you assassinated by orgy-induced heart attack."
"Good, good. I like you, Huzu. You've got balls. Besides, it wouldn't work. I haven't been back there in years." He shuddered. "Filthy, disgusting, cold, rainy place. People always nagging at you—oh, Mareo, please go kill all the people in that tribe over there! Oh, Mareo, please go hunt down this wild animal! Oh, Mareo, please go scout out this filthy cave that we found that leads deep into the earth and has some kind of horrific doom fortress thing in it!"
For the life of him, Hazō could not think how to respond to that.
We, uh, should try to find that cave. That's a plot hook if I've ever heard one. Maybe check with him to see if it was ever cleared out first.
Author's Note : You chatted with Mareo until almost nightfall, telling him a bit about your history and your dreams of Uplift and listening to the (almost certainly wildly exaggerated) stories of his adventures. You maintained OPSEC throughout. You did not talk about the Dragons yet, because there wasn't a good place to introduce it into the conversation. You then returned to Cannai to get your travel papers stamped rights re-approved.
We gotta take a page from Noburi's book, and pay him back in kind with wildly exaggerated tales of our own travel! Maybe dropping OPSEC a little would be wise, I get the feeling that this is the kind of guy that values authenticity.
Success! The Activation Relay Seal is complete! Details have been added to the PLAYERS - Known Seals document
After all these years... finally... ARS is done....
Great chapter, and Mario's a blast. Looking forward to seeing him again!
